With Thanksgiving and Christmas break right around the corner, the idea that people should be gearing up to go on exotic tropical vacations is implanted in our heads. However, each year less people continue to go on vacations during these long breaks due to various circumstances and factors that are getting in the way.

Throughout the year, diligent students and employees spend hours everyday working extremely hard. Patiently they await their next break and daydream about vacations to beaches where there will be no worries. This is definitely not the reality today.

A recent study done by CNBC shows that 49 percent of people will not be taking a vacation this time of the year. Out of the whopping 49 percent, half of the total number of people who said the reason they aren’t going on vacation is because of money. Other reasons considered in the study included family situations, time off work and simply because people don’t want to go on vacation.

Going on vacations used to be much simpler, but nowadays it’s getting more complicated and stressful. One of the biggest factors that contributes to the decreasing amount of people taking vacations is money.

Booking tickets is a dreadful process; airline tickets are ridiculously expensive. For example, the average cost of one airplane ticket is $335- a number which increases each year. However, the airplane tickets are merely one part of the vacation.

Next, there is a need to book a hotel, which can cost hundreds of dollars each night. In addition to this, paying for food can really add up- especially if people are eating out almost every night, as is typical for vacations. Thinking about the cost of a vacation really holds people back, thus causing them to choose to stay home instead.

“I am not going on a vacation during the holidays this year. My family chose to stay here because we wanted to be near our family and home,” claimed freshman Grace Mare. “Planning vacations is really stressful because you have to arrange everything.”

Further contributing to the dwindling number of holiday travelers, taking the time off school or work for vacation is a challenge all in its own. Paying jobs nowadays barely give any time off for their employees. Many workers are given a certain number of vacation days, so many people don’t want to use them all up for one vacation. Students only get a week or two for break, so scheduling their time off to match their parents can be really stressful.

“My family is actually going on vacation to Utah this year. It isn’t a huge vacation because we hate arranging everything, but I’m still excited to go away,” freshman Abby Garner said.

Traveling in general is getting more difficult each year, also partly due to pets. Many pet owners struggle to find someone willing to watch their animals, and even if they do, there always seems to be some sort of catch. Making sure that pets have all their shots is a big factor that causes people to spend even more money. It can be really stressful for some to think about leaving their pets. As a result, more people are staying home.

“I think that vacations are worth the cost. Every time my family and I go on vacations I have the best time, even though it costs a lot of money,” junior Campbell Fair stated.

Although there still are a number of people traveling around the holidays, many prefer not to because of all the stress that comes with it. Money, getting time off, and pets play great roles in determining whether or not people will be going on a vacation during the holidays.